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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · pitch · shower · spell · temple · game · bore · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pitch — completely
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. prune — to trim
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bore — to tire
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. spell — magic
  16. bore — to drill
  17. shower — rain
  18. kid — child
  19. spell — letters
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spell — a short time
  22. game — a match
  23. shower — to wash
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com